Depending if you want to describe tongue delving or riding the ideal story would have
Sub MC if they make sub decisions or let others make them for them more Like and act like a sub
Dom MC if they make decisions without others and act dominant.
As well as different genders.
That’s the ideal to me.
So using genders alone ( I’m not counting NB which might be it’s own challenge)
Male Dom mc male sub ro
Female Dom mc female sub ro
Male sub MC male Dom ro
Female Dom mc female Dom ro
Female Dom mc male sub ro
Female sub MC male Dom ro
Male Dom mc female sub ro
Male sub MC female Dom ro
That’s eight scenes then you have NB into the mix. That’s an additional however many scenes.
To simplify things . You could use versus. The Aphrodite wanna be will never be a sub because she’s a literal Goddess. And a bookish nerdy timid character is likely a sub. But if your MC is a sub they probably wouldn’t fall for a sub character. If the writing is good enough. Anyway my point I want as many lesbian sub and Dom scenes in fiction as possible.
I understand you because even if we have different orientation we both are supposed to be things we aren’t because a stupid stereotypes people have about role dynamic during intercourse and gender. People like different things and their gender identity is not a valid reason to assume what dynamic they follow. Also top bottom has nothing really to do with initiative lol. I can be dominant and be in bottom i can guarantee that
You know, if you say things like this in the thread, I can go make changes. hint hint. You absolutely do not sound like a jerk. Honestly, the way I tried to write the scene was that Leochlan wants a virgin Gab to try both so that he can figure out what he likes. I wasn’t thinking about players who have a preference; I was thinking more about how Leochlan would want the mc to experiment.
That wasn’t my intention with that scene, and frankly, Leochlan’s scenes were the first time I’d ever published something of that nature. Critiques are welcome. In fact, I will go and revise (at least Leochlan’s scenes) so that the dynamic is made to be player’s choice a little more. Laniwynn is one of the few characters with some harder lines of what she is and isn’t willing to do, but I’ll see if I can tweak her scenes too. I don’t know if that will help at all as you’ve already played through that, but it will make it a better interaction in the future.
I would hope this is never the case with one of the actual ROs, as those scenes are going to be much more complicated. Rather than do what @GenecoInheritor suggested, most of my characters don’t have too strong of preferences. They mostly revolve around what makes the mc happy. Obviously they’ll have different behaviors/success at certain things, but that’s what makes them unique. Also, if there’s any more SoS only related conversation, please take it to the SoS thread. Let’s try not to get too off-topic!
So, for example, a proper RO scene might look more like this with a series of choices (some of which may or may not be set earlier)
Take the lead/let them take the lead.
Location
Preference of type of interaction
Positioning
A bunch of other misc variables such as your character’s temperament, strength vs. agility, etc.
But that’s just how I plan to attack them. Ultimately you should do what works best for you, but avoid gender stereotyping.
There’s a bit of conundrum where-in the more choices you give a player, the more likely it is a smaller phrase or detail can break immersion, but through feed-back and revisions, you can hopefully minimize that. You won’t be able to please everyone, and that’s just something you’ll have to accept, but player suggestions and critiques are an absolutely invaluable resource, which is one reason to write it, get it out there, and see where the cards lie.
I believe it should come down to choice rather than gender. If you’re writing full-blown smut, yes, it ought to probably include wording specific to the gender of your MC and the LI’s, albeit I can see that being a problem for MCs not fitting the binary since asking the player about…equipment…has not gone over well in the past.
As for domming/subbing (or more accurately, who takes the lead) that should definitely 100 percent be the player’s choice. In Wayhaven Chronicles, for example, a male player has the opportunity to turn things around on Morgan when she pins male!MC to the door - a female MC did not get that choice, which was really disappointing for me. (That said, I believe the lack of that choice was an oversight, but it still smarts!)
However, that doesn’t mean the LI has to go along with it! I’d be totally okay if an LI told my MC ‘hey, I kinda prefer taking charge if that’s okay with you’.
“A love interest being more submissive/dominant depending on the mcs gender”
Honestly on one hand I wouldn’t mind it for the simple fact that some people are like that but as long as it’s not all the same, you need some variety (like some men who are more submissive to women and vice versa, ,y’know? ) on the other hand i feel like it might take away from the character? Like if you have a very assertive dominant character, having them suddenly become submissive would feel off? but then again I suppose some people are like that with their SO, so… idk i have mixed feelings about it . Also IF you want to include a third non-binary option into your game (not saying you have to or anything but if you decide you want to) how would that be worked into it?
In games with ROs I tend to go for whoever is the most dominant (male) one so if I went for one in a game just to be greeted with a submissive personality I’d be pretty disappointed.
That was what I was initially thinking, for example there’d be a guy who was more dominant with guys, a dude who was more submissive to a girl, ect. That said it does make more sense to just let the MC decide, but that leads me to another question though; how do you do that without it being weird and/or breaking the flow of the moment?
It is really easy just let choices of wait npc act or take you the initiative. I feel like that’s far natural that force player into a role that normally is pure stereotype. If i get a euro each time a game forces me being submissive because i am a girl i could bought a palace. that or track a hidden initiative stat based upon choices
I say go further than gender. Let the fictional elements have some sway on the scenes too and not just as a quick aside but don’t go to the hardcore stuff eiher. Oh please don’t go hardcore. Silly is fine though and I encourage it.
As for dom/sub… leave that to the RO or dodge or character sheet it. My own gender shouldn’t set my role.
Chiming in again, I disagree with some of the pretext of this discussion.
Dominant/submissive is a personality aspect that varies from individual to individual. We can talk about whether some of the variance is determined by gender, but not all of it. I think using the gender variable as the switch for dominant/submissive sex scene dynamics in our writing is a mistake.
Characters are individuals. They are not representative of anything but ourselves, as authors and readers.
